


Strength

by spiralnebulaM31



Category: Neighbours (TV)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Comfort, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Married Couple
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-28
Updated: 2020-06-28
Packaged: 2021-03-04 12:03:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24969403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spiralnebulaM31/pseuds/spiralnebulaM31
Summary: Paul comforts Terese after she's just managed to prevent a disaster, and his support becomes her strength.
Relationships: Paul Robinson/Terese Willis
Comments: 16
Kudos: 12





	Strength

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by today's new spoilers for Monday 6th July: "Confronting Dax, Terese is set straight about the situation with his wife" (by erinsboroughnews) and "Terese is worried that she inadvertently bribed a cop" (by TV Week). It's mostly speculation since we don't know much about the storyline at the moment and something similar could easily happen at any point in their life as a married couple.
> 
> This is my first Terese and Paul story and is dedicated to the ladies of our Twitter Praise group chat, who are always there to discuss our favourite power couple!
> 
> Un-betaed (because it's the first thing I've written in a very long time and I'm too excited to not post it right away!), so all mistakes are mine.
> 
> I hope you enjoy reading!
> 
> ~ Anastasia

The thought of fresh air sounded good in her head, but now that Terese is in front of Lassiter’s, she is constantly looking over her shoulder, almost waiting for another disaster to hit out of nowhere.

_Talk about relaxing,_ she thinks.  
  
She definitely can’t relax when she’s stressing about what this could have done to the hotel’s reputation and most importantly her freedom. She was this close to let everything get out of hand.  
  
The thought of going back to her office suffocates her, while knowing that she has to tell Paul worries her even more.  
  
She glances at the people who come and go; customers and staff all continue with their day, unaffected by her sour mood and gloomy thoughts.

The _ding_ of her mobile phone makes her jump.

Paul’s name has appeared on the screen with a simple ‘ _You alright?’_  
  
She can’t make up her mind about what to reply to him when she receives a second text.

_‘I can see you. Look up.’_

She immediately does and when she sees him there, at The Terrace, looking at her from the edge of the balcony with a soft smile, it’s like she finds her place in the world again.

And in that moment she knows that she doesn’t need to be afraid.

She types a quick reply and heads into the hotel, the idea of returning to her office less dreading now that she knows Paul will be there with her.

“Is everything alright?” he asks as he enters the office after her.

She turns to look at him.

“No, everything is not alright,” she says. “We’d better sit down for this.”

Sitting at the couch facing each other, she hesitates for a moment.

And then she tells him everything.

She watches him carefully as she speaks, trying to gauge his reaction. He’s quiet and collected - usually a sign that he’s really listening - during her anxious monologue.

But now that everything is out, she begins to panic. 

What if his reaction isn’t as reassuring as his smile was a few minutes ago, before he knew she almost screwed up once again?

Yes, she could have gone to jail if she hadn’t managed to rectify the situation, but she would probably deserve it. Plus, the hotel suffered twice in the last few months and both times it was her fault. She knows she would be the first person to own her mistake and admit she was at fault if things had come to that.

"How did I even get myself in this mess?" she quietly questions.

That earns her a cheeky grin from her husband, one that always annoys her and excites her at the same time. (Annoys her because it’s his plotting-something-naughty grin and excites her because, well, who said she doesn’t like that mischievous side of his sometimes?)

“Well, well, well... Who thought my wife would take the _im_ moral high ground? Never done that before, hey?”

That she didn’t expect.

“It’s not funny, Paul!” she says exasperated. 

Paul’s grin softens and his expression gets serious.

“I know it’s not,” he says. He reaches for her hands, holding both in his and beginning to stroke little comforting circles with his thumbs. “I know exactly what it would mean for you and our business, but the thing is, darling, that nothing happened. You sorted it out and now there’s nothing to worry about.”

His reassuring words make her feel a little better, but the guilt is still there, still making her feel stressed and shameful. She sighs and looks down at their joined hands. “Something _could_ have happened though.”

“But it didn’t.”

He places one of his hands on her cheek and gently brushes her skin, making her look up again.

Their eyes lock and she can feel the vulnerability she’s showing him right this moment.

She used to be scared of it, scared of the way she can reveal all of herself to him in her weakest moments.

But she’s not scared anymore. On the contrary, she’s almost elated. That feeling of power she gets when she has no secrets from him, when he knows and understands every little emotion she tries to convey with words and actions, is like nothing she’s ever experienced before.

And it’s strength, not weakness.

“Nothing happened,” he repeats. “Look, we would cross a different bridge if you hadn’t explained yourself to Dax and this conversation would probably be quite different. But I would’ve still had your back, Terese, you know that.”

She brings her hand up, intertwining her fingers with his and holding his palm to her cheek as she says, “I do know that. That doesn’t mean I feel good about almost having another disaster thrown at us though.”

The moment is quiet, peaceful. Just the two of them, sharing vulnerability and support.

Their breaths mingle as they are drawn closer and closer together, until…

An impish glint appears in Paul’s eyes, something Terese is sure she’d miss if she didn’t know him that well.

“What now?” she asks suspiciously.

He smiles playfully at her. “Mmm, it’s just nice to know I wasn’t the one to cause trouble this time.”

“Paul!”

She knows he’s teasing her to lighten the mood, but she can’t help faking annoyance. Because it’s _them_ , it’s how they work, how they are around each other.

And the fleeting feeling of weakness from earlier disappears completely when their lips finally touch. 


End file.
